Authors Note: I've been away from posting fan fiction for quite some time. After leaving too many stories unfinished I decided to not post another until the end of the story was in sight. This is the first time I've come close. I started this back in season one when a lot of Erin's back story was unknown, some things don't quite follow the details of the show don't read anything into that.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; I make no money from this. This is written purely for my own enjoyment and maybe that of anyone who reads this.

"Turn on the television," Ruzek yelled as he ran up the stairs, "there has been a massive accident on the freeway; it's all over the news."

Ruzek reached the television first; he turned it on as everyone gathered around behind him. The chopper coverage of the accident was crazy, they couldn't count how many cars and trucks and buses there were. Then Halstead saw it, the prison transport van, everyone seemed to swear quietly under their breath and then as if just for them the news coverage started listing the prisoners who'd escaped.

Lindsay's blood ran cold when she saw the name of the third prisoner, Costa Del Torro. Voight came up behind her, placed his hand on her shoulder. She hadn't even heard him approach. The news bulletin ended.

"Back to work everyone," Voight yelled, "Lindsay in my office." She followed him to his officer, closed the door behind her.

"Are you okay kid?" he asked, she noted his use of the word kid, he wasn't asking as Voight her boss and head of Intelligence, he was asking as Hank her over protective almost father.

"I'm fine," she said crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't fine, she was actually a little freaked out but she didn't want Voight to know.

"I want to place a car outside your building? Or maybe you could stay with me."

"Stay with you? That's probably the stupidest thing we could do. It wasn't just me Costa was hell bent on getting revenge with it was you too." She uncrossed her arms, brushed her hand over her gun. "I don't need protection."

"Lindsay," Voight stepped forward as if he was going to touch her, she stepped back.

"I can take care of myself, I'm not a little girl anymore." This time she openly touched her gun, gave it a little pat. "If Costa comes, I'll be ready," she said and she stepped back, turned around and walked out the room before Voight could say anymore, before he could talk her into something she didn't want. She didn't want Voight to know she was scared but more than that she didn't want the rest of the unit knowing the details of that part of her history.

-8-8-8-

Costa had been the reason she met Voight thirteen years earlier. She was a kid, fourteen trying to keep herself alive on the streets of Chicago. Four years earlier she'd ran away from home, her mom's new boyfriend kept trying to make visits into her bed at night. Her mom didn't believe her when she told her. Instead she yelled at her, called her a bunch of horrible name and kicked her out the house.

It was late in the evening and the train station was the first open building she came to. There was a family waiting to board a train to Chicago, she stayed close to them and when the train arrived she pretended to be one of them. No one questioned her but when she arrived in Chicago she had nowhere to go. Costa found her huddling in a doorway trying to keep warm, he invited her back to his place, offered her a roof, a warm bed, and a hot meal. She didn't trust him for a second but she was smart enough to know she would freeze if she spent the night on the street.

For a while things were good, he fed her, clothed her and even got her enrolled in school. She never had a father so at first it was kind of nice but she could tell Costa was a shady bloke too and after a few months his true colours started to show. There was a reason he enrolled her in school and it wasn't so she could get an education. He made his money selling drugs and he wanted to expand his market into the school. She was his middle man, he'd give her the drugs, little packed of white powder and people would come to her with money. She was a good little drug dealer, for over two years she dealt Costa's, H and coke while still doing well at school but then she met a boy. He'd transferred to school from somewhere far away and had trouble written all over him. When he found out she was the one with the drugs at school he slipped up beside her in the lunch room and asked her to hook him up. She took his money and gave him the merchandise but he didn't slide away like the others he asked her to come back to his place.

She should have known it was a bad idea but no one let alone a boy had ever asked her over. At his place he pulled out the little pack of drugs she'd sold him and asked her if she wanted to get high with him. He laughed when she told him she'd never tried the stuff, she tried to tell him no, intellectually she knew drugs were bad, she'd seen what they'd done to her mother, but he was so sweet and so persuasive. She took her first hit and it was a downward spiral from there.

At first she tried to hide her using, she increased her price at point of sale to cover the stuff she took. It worked when she only took one hit, but one soon became two and then three. She became addicted to the stuff and her work got sloppy. She got caught dealing at school, she was expelled on the spot, Voight was the police officer who showed up to arrest.

He hauled her arse into the station, asked her a bunch of questions, yelled at her a bit. At some point he called Costa but Costa never showed to bail her out. After three days Voight let her go, he never really explained how or why she was able to leave just handed her his business card and told her to call him if she needed help. She threw the business card away and went straight back to Costa, all she cared about was getting her next hit. Costa beat her half senseless for getting herself caught but she still managed to get her hit, before he kicked her into the streets again.

She turned to petty theft to make her money, house break-ins mainly but a little shoplifting as well. For almost a year she made enough money to keep her pockets lined with drugs but as the weeks and months went on her need for the drugs increased. Petty theft turned to solicitation. On her first night out she was arrested, it would have been a straight solicitation charge but she was wearing the clothing and jewellery she'd stolen the night before and when they searched her clothes they found her last hit of H. She was in lock up for twenty four hours before the penny finally dropped and she realised she was in serious trouble. With no one to turn to she did the only thing she could think of she asked for Voight.

When he finally arrived, she'd been in the lock up almost two days; she was tired, hungry, scared, and going through withdrawal. He yelled at her, he made her cry but when she finally listened to the words he was saying, he was mad at her for not calling him sooner. When he'd let off his steam he handed her a bag from McDonalds, with three cheeseburgers, a large fires and soda inside. While she ate he calmed down and then they talked.

He had a plan to make it all go away, he made a promise he help her get out but she needed to do something for him first. He wanted her to go back to Costa, he wanted to get someone on the inside, he wanted her to be his CI. When they had enough evidence to bring Costa and the rest of his network down, he'd get her out. She agreed to go back, the way she saw it, she didn't have much choice.

Going back to Costa was one of the scariest things she'd ever done. He slapped her around, called her a good for nothing but she stayed, kept her eyes open and recorded everything Costa said or did in her mind. Every few days she'd see Voight; she'd tell him what she'd seen, he'd give her some cash. Occasionally he'd bring her food as well, she was using all the money on drugs, eating didn't even cross her mind most of the time. The arrangement worked for a month and then someone snitched on her. She came back to the apartment one afternoon feeling good about herself she was high, in the euphoric relaxed state. Costa and all his cronies were sitting there, the drugs laid out nicely on the table.

"Where have you been Erin?" He asked as she walked in the door.

"Out," she said paying him no attention, at that moment she hadn't realised what was going on. She went to walk past him to head to her room but he grabbed her arm.

"Not so fast girl," he said yanking her arm and pulling her back to the sofa. He sat her down beside him and pulled her jacket off. "I've got something special for you all the way from Columbia. A new shipment has just arrived and we want you to be the first to try it." He pulled out a little vial of liquid H and a used needle.

"No thanks," she said and she tried to stand up, "I don't need any more now." But Costa and his crony on the side of her wouldn't let her stand.

"But this is special Erin and just for you." They held her down as the needle went into her arm, as the drug went into her system she heard him hiss. "I know what you've been doing you little snitch." She screamed for help but it was already too late. The drug was in her system and the beating had already started.

She would have died that night if Voight hadn't been keeping an eye on her. There were undercover officers across the hall and in the building across the way, they heard her scream. Just as she was losing consciousness, she saw Voight and a dozen other officers storm the place.

She woke up in the hospital two days later with Voight at her bedside. At first she thought she was in trouble, that she'd been arrested again but as Voight slowly began filling in the pieces she realised that wasn't the case. Costa and every one of his crew had been arrested, for her it was almost over. All that was left was putting Costa away, testifying against him. Voight said she had to get clean first, he sent her to rehab and when she got out he opened his home to her. For the first time in her life she had what resembled a normal family, a mother and father who actually cared and a little brother who thought she was the greatest thing on earth. It was hard to get used to, in the first month she ran away multiple times but Voight always came and found and he always took her back. She agreed to stay because she wanted to put Costa away, the thought that she was getting a family didn't even cross her mind until she was there, until she was living it.

Now thirteen years later the bastard was on the loose, she'd always known the day would come but she hadn't thought it would come so quickly.